GTM Research recently released a smart grid report, The Smart Grid in Asia, 2012-2016: Markets, Technologies and Strategies . This article is the part of a series of perspectives from the report's author on the tremendous smart grid opportunity in Asia. In 2009, China embarked on a three-stage journey to become a world leader in smart grid technologies with its aptly named "Strong and Smart Grid" 11-year plan. The plan encompasses all aspects of the grid, including increasing generation and transmission capacity, a nationwide smart meter deployment, large-scale renewable energy integration, and a large substation build-out. Four years later, State Grid Corporation of China, the largest utility in the world and the brains behind China's smart grid plans, is in full swing with phase two of its ambitious smart grid deployment plans -- the Construction Phase, running from 2011...